Walter pulled back into the parking lot outside of Paige's condo. He saw Cabe's SUV and Happy's truck and while he smiled he was still a little apprehensive about seeing Toby. Even if Toby apologized he knew it would probably be full of sarcasm and would undoubtedly turn into why he was the source of all their woes. He sighed, he'd do it for Paige though, and there wasn't anything he could think of that he wouldn't do for her.

Walter stopped when he got to her balcony and slid the new tank into place under the grill. He pulled the hose over and tightened it by hand. He opened the lid and pulled the wrench out of the grill and gently tightened it down when he heard the door handle turn.

He looked up and saw Toby step out of the condo and close the door. Toby looked down at him, "I thought I heard something out here."

Walter looked back at the tank connection, "Let me guess, you thought you heard a rat."

Toby grinned, "It's like you read my mind 197."

Walter shook his head as it was going exactly how he calculated it would go. Walter sighed as he turned the tank value just enough to allow some gas to flow.

Toby watched him pick up the flame wand, "So how you been?"

Walter nodded, "Fine." He turned the grill valve on and pulled the trigger on the wand.

As Walter stuck the wand down into the grill the gas ignited. Toby continued to watch, "Catch any big cases while we were gone?"

Walter shook his head as he adjusted the grill valve and closed the lid.

"Can't shut you up today can I?" Toby joked.

Walter looked at him and a bit louder than he meant, "What do you want Toby?"

Everyone inside was looking towards the front door.

Toby stared at him for a moment, "Well for the moment just a bit of your attention."

Walter sighed, "I am more than capable of holding a relevant conversation and start a grill at the same time so you have what you claimed to want."

Toby continued to stare, "Can't I just have a conversation with you without you getting ticked off?"

Walter looked at him, "Can't you have a conversation without being sarcastic and backhanded?"

Toby grinned, "Its part of my charm."

Walter rolled his eyes and tried to walk past him, "And how has your charm worked on me before?"

Toby stopped him, "Okay fine, I wanted to apologize to you but you don't want to hear it."

Walter shoved his hands into his pockets, "What I don't want to hear is your snide comments and you poking fun at me. If you want to apologize you should try leading with the apology instead."

Toby's mouth fell open, "Wow, I thought we were friends."

Walter's eyes closed and he reached up and rubbed the center of his forehead as he took in a deep breath. "Seriously, you thought we were friends? You walk out on me and form a company to compete against me and not once in six months do you bother to try and talk with me. And anytime we saw each other at a job bid you were just as sarcastic and condescending as normal."

Walter pushed past him and opened the door, "I'm really beginning to regret this decision."

He looked up as he entered and saw everyone staring at him. He swallowed and looked at Paige, "The grill is heating up now. It should be ready in ten minutes." He kissed her cheek as he put the wrench in the cabinet drawer.

Paige nodded as Walter walked into the front room, "Hey Cabe, Allie, Happy." Walter greeted them as he walked on by and down the hall to the bathroom.

After he washed his hands he walked into Paige's bedroom and closed the door before he walked over and sat down on the side of the bed.

Toby walked in and Happy glared at him, "What did you do?"

Toby stared at her, "Me? You heard his imperial pigheadedness."

Ralph slammed his game controller on the coffee table.

They all looked into the front room and watched as he stormed out glaring at Toby.

Happy nodded, "Yea I heard you and so did everyone else. What we didn't hear was you apologizing."

"Who could apologize with the way he went after me," Toby complained lamely.

Happy's eyes went wide as she grabbed Paige's paring knife. "You want someone to come after you? You went out there and purposely, without apologizing, pressed every button you could. What is wrong with you? I thought we were on the same page? I thought you wanted to make amends? I thought you wanted to go back to Scorpion? Because that is what you told me you wanted and specifically said you missed him."

"Look, maybe I was wrong, but I tried to approach him like I always did." Toby adjusted his hat.

"That includes having a mentality to call him 'his imperial pigheadedness'?" Paige asked. "It doesn't sound like you were trying to approach it any other way than to get some more digs in against him before you 'apologized' to me."

Happy pointed to Paige, "Exactly. Walt made a gesture to us that was completely out of character for him and rather than trying to build on that you tried to tear him down. For all of your whining about him being imperial and pigheaded you fail to see you do the exact same thing. If someone doesn't conform to your will you belittle them. Well except me but then you know I'll take a hammer to your head if you tried."

Toby stared at them both, "That isn't true."

They both stared at him. "Really, should I call Sly up and ask him," Paige asked.

"Speaking of Sly, where is he?" Toby looked around.

"Walter didn't think it would be fair to invite him and not Flo so we didn't." Paige answered him.

Cabe kissed Allie's cheek and walked down the hallway and as he raised his hand to knock on the door to Paige's bedroom the door opened, "Oh, did you need something Cabe?"

Cabe looked into Walter's eyes, "You okay kid?"

Walter lifted his eyebrows and nodded as he stepped out when Cabe stepped back.

Walter walked out and into the kitchen, "Is the food ready?"

Paige nodded but took a moment to take his head between her hands and looked into his eyes before kissing him. "Do you know how much I love you?"

Walter smiled, "Enough to put together my shish kabobs?"

Paige smacked his arm as she laughed, "A lot more than that silly."

Walter picked up the tray and walked towards the door. He looked at Toby standing in front of the door, "Excuse me."

Toby grinned, "You're excused. Ow." Toby grabbed the back of his head as Happy slapped him.

"Did you not listen to a single word we just said to you?" Happy demanded as she grabbed his arm and yanked him away from the door.

Walter smiled inwardly but opened the door and walked on out.

Happy glared at Toby, "Stop being you for ten minutes and go out there and apologize properly."

Toby rolled his eyes as he turned and opened the door.

Happy looked at Paige, "Why do men have to be such babies?"

Paige and Allie both laughed as Cabe looked at Happy, "Excuse me?"

Happy smiled, "Present company excluded of course."

Walter looked over and saw Toby come out and he sighed as he rolled his eyes. "Look Toby, if this is just going to be more of your sarcasm I'm really not in the mood for it."

Toby pulled off his hat, "Look Walt, I'm sorry. I don't do apologies well in the first place. As much as I make fun of your ego I got one just as big and it is difficult to admit when I have been an ass. I know we've had a lot of issues in the past and for the most part we worked through them. I'm not sure why things blew up like they did or how we ended up as we were but I am sorry. You've always been a good friend and put up with my hijinks like no other employer ever would. Maybe we can try going to that quack again?"

Walter shook his head, "Scorpion doesn't have the money and Paige and I are already going to go to counseling so I can't afford it personally."

"You guys could come to me," Toby offered.

Walter's head shot up and looked at him like he just sprouted two heads.

Toby smiled, "Too soon?"

"Just a bit," Walter nodded as he continued putting the skewers on the grill keeping the veggie ones separate from the meat.

Walter finished washing the last dish and handed it to Paige as she rinsed and dried it. He leaned over and kissed her cheek, "Dinner was delicious."

Paige smiled, "You cooked it."

Walter laughed, "That was just thermodynamics at work. You prepared everything, made the marinade and marinated it all."

Paige put the last piece up and turned and kissed Walter deeply. "I thought dinner went well. Well after Toby finally got his head out of his butt."

Walter nodded as his hands came to rest on her hips, "I thought if you didn't mind, maybe the three of us could run back to the Garage for a little bit tonight."

Paige frowned as she looked at her watch, "It's a little late for that isn't it? Ralph has school in the morning and we've got the meeting with Blair Diagnostics as well. Why did you want to go back?"

Walter looked a little embarrassed, "Well, I wanted to redo the desks in the Garage before everyone comes in tomorrow."

Paige smiled and ran her hand through his hair, "Walter, Happy and Sly understood you were protecting yourself. They didn't take offense at it. Toby will probably be a jerk no matter what you do so don't worry about it. Let's just go to bed, I'm sure Ralph is already asleep anyway."

Walter nodded, "I'm pretty tired."

Paige arched her eyebrow, "Don't count on getting to sleep anytime soon mister."

Walter and Paige were nearing Ralph's school when his phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and handed it to Paige. She saw "Cabe" and hit speaker, "Hey Cabe."

Cabe asked, "Hey kid, Walt with you?"

"Right here Cabe," Walter answered.

"Yea, we're about to Ralph's school," Paige confirmed.

"Okay, call me back when it is just the two of you," Cabe told them.

Walter instinctively looked into the review mirror at Ralph, "Okay Cabe we'll talk with you shortly."

"What do you think that was about?" Paige asked.

Walter shook his head, "Too broad to speculate at this point."

"I think he wants you to swing by the county morgue," Ralph spoke up from the back.

Paige turned around in her seat, Walter looked into the rearview mirror, "Why would you think that Ralph?"

Ralph looked from Walter to his Mom, "I hacked into Homeland and saw a call go out to Cabe about an hour ago for a John Doe in the morgue."

Walter chuckled and stopped abruptly when he saw her staring at him, "I do not want the feds coming after my son again Walter."

Walter nodded quickly, "Sorry."

"Sorry Mom," Ralph told her.

Paige saw they were pulling into the school parking lot, "We'll discuss it this evening at the Garage young man."

Ralph sighed.

Walter grinned as he pulled up to the curb, "Have a good day buddy, we'll see you this afternoon when we pick you up."

Ralph nodded, "See you then Walter, love you Mom."

Paige smiled, "Love you to Ralph." She resisted the urge to call him Ralphy. She watched as he exited the car and walked up to the door and entered the school building.

Walter slowly pulled away from the curb as someone started honking for them to move.

Paige hit redial on Walter's phone and put it on speaker, "Hey Walt, Paige, can you guys swing by the county morgue?"

Walter and Paige both grinned at each other before they chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Cabe asked.

"Nothing we'd care to repeat over an unsecured line," Walter answered.

"We'll be there shortly Cabe," Paige told him.

As Paige hit disconnect on Walter's phone, "What do you think is going on?"

Walter shook his head, "I don't know but I sure hope it doesn't take too long. We got to go let Sylvester into the Garage and get to Blair Diagnostics."

Paige smiled as she reached over and took Walter's hand, "We'll be alright. If we have to Cabe can go let Sylvester into the Garage."

Walter looked over and smiled, "I love how your mind works. You see right through problems I don't." He pulled her hand up and kissed it.

As Walter parked Paige's car they saw Cabe walk out of the building and made his way over. As Walter got out Cabe opened Paige's door, "Thanks for coming guys."

Walter nodded, "What's going on Cabe?"

As they turned to walk towards the building Cabe nodded, "Last night there was a head on car accident not far from the Garage, a drunk driver involved. Homeland has had a description out for a while now when we got a hit on it. They called me and I called you."

Walter looked at him, "Collins?"

Cabe looked at Walter as Paige looked at him, "Now how the hell could you figure that out?"

Walter smiled, "What other body identification could you possibly call us for?"

Cabe smiled, "One of these days I'll surprise you."

Walter laughed.

As they walked down the hallway Walter looked at Paige, "You don't have to look if you don't want too."

Paige smiled, "It is okay, besides if that sicko is dead I want to see it with my own eyes."

"Yea, well, it isn't pretty. So prepare yourselves," Cabe warned them.

Cabe opened the door to autopsy and walked in. Paige grabbed her noise at the smell of the formalin. Walter looked at her, "You okay?"

Paige smiled wanly and nodded.

"Walt, Paige, this is Dr. Novaous. Doc, Walter O'Brien and Paige Dineen, Scorpion." Cabe introduced them.

The Dr nodded, "Hope you both have a strong stomach, if not, trash can is right there." He pointed.

They saw the blood soaked sheet and the Dr pulled it back and Paige quickly looked away with her eyes closed as she held Walter's hand a bit tighter.

Walter stepped closer and bent over and examined his face closer, "Quite a bit of damage, facial recognition is difficult. Teeth have been damaged making dental identification extremely difficult, fingerprints?"

Cabe shook his head.

Walter nodded, "Not surprising, he could have hacked the system and changed them anyway. General body shape conforms to his previous known statistics. May I touch the body?"

Dr Novaous nodded.

Walter picked up his hand and turned it to look at his hands, "No serious calluses, and obvious signs of someone who types a lot. Have you run a mineralogical analysis of a molar?"

Dr Novaous looked at Cabe and Cabe just laughed, "Don't look at me."

Walter looked up, "The mineral composition in the tooth can be used to narrow down where someone grew up. Are there any scars or tattoos or any other significant skin issue?"

Dr Novaous nodded and pulled up the sheet over his left leg revealing an old scar. Walter nodded, "Have you got the x-ray?"

Dr Novaous pointed at an examine light.

Walter, still holding Paige's hand, stepped over with her and examined the image. He turned and looked at Cabe, "I'm 93.6% positive this is Collins. I'd like Toby to examine the body and I'd like the test done on a molar as well."

Cabe nodded, "You got it."

And so ends the story. Hope you enjoyed it! To the Adventure! -Tim